Okinawa 10k and Comprehensive Park

Last weekend was a lot of fun!  We went to packet pick up Saturday afternoon and spent the rest of the day walking around Comprehensive Park.  Although I've wanted to take the boys to this park before, I've just never gotten around to it.

Comprehensive Park had jogging and bike trails, large fields and several courts.  Besides the water park, there was a large canal and a play area with fountains (signs were posted saying "Don't drink the water" in Japanese, so I assume at some point there must be water).

Summer fountains?

Eventually we made our way around the park to the playgrounds.  (The name of the playground area is ちびっこ広場 (Chibikko Hiroba), which translates as Ankle-biter Square or Rugrat Square.  Cracks me up!)  We went to the playground for younger children but older kids had several large areas too.

Playground for toddlers

Play structure for older children

Over at the ponds, the boys loved watching the carp and turtles.  I believe paddle boats could be rented too but we had already spent several hours exploring park and the boys were getting crabby.

Bridge to the islands in the pond

My plan for race day was to do the 10k this year as a practice run for next year's marathon.  Sunday morning we parked at Aeon in Gushikawa around 7:45 and there was still plenty of spaces open.  The shuttle bus got us to the stadium by 8:15.  Easy peasy!  The boys grabbed some breakfast from one of the food stands and we settled down to wait for the 10k.  The marathon started at 9 with a little fireworks show.  Then it was my turn at 9:30.

The course was mostly flat but I had a lot of trouble settling into my own pace.  Like Ayahashi, this race was packed.  I wasn't able to really pass anyone until after the 2km mark and the rest of the race was a lot of weaving in and out of traffic jams.  I've pretty much given up on setting a goal time for these races and will just run for fun.

Race shirt and 10k finisher's medal

I felt so bad for the marathoners!  Although the weather was fairly cool and cloudy for the 10k, the sun came out and the temp soared later in the morning.  We live near McT, which I think is around mile 9 on the course, and we got home around noon.  Even with the course open to traffic, there was still a steady flow of runners - and they looked miserable!  The heat definitely took its toll.  I hope they were able to finish and get their medal.

Crossing my fingers for better weather next year.

Setsubun and Lunar New Year

We've been busy little bees out adventuring and celebrating.  The good side of that is lots of fun with the boys; the down side is not a lot of time to blog.

We had fun with Setsubun (the Japanese holiday marking the first day of spring).  We got our mask and bean set at Aeon (they had a big display by the bakery).  Chris was "too busy" to let us throw beans at him, so the boys and I took turns wearing the oni mask and chasing each other around.

Demon Isaac

Soy beans

For Lunar New Year, I decorated the tatami room and I tried out some new recipes.  The spring rolls and wontons were yummy, the celery salad not so much.  The boys were in an antsy mood, so I only got a couple of pictures.  After dinner, we did some small fireworks and ate fortune cookies.

Isaac more interested in the dragon than me

We didn't do much for Valentine's.  In fact, we actually went out to eat at Obbligato (their chimichangas are amazing but not exactly romantic).  I made an angel food cake with strawberries for dessert and that was about it.  Low key can be a nice change sometimes.

Alrighty, I've got the Okinawa 10k in the morning so it's bed time for me.  Good luck to all the marathoners tomorrow!

Back to Bios on the Hill

Another trip I've wanted to do again is Bios on the Hill.  Last time we went the weather was rainy, Isaac wasn't walking yet, and Chris was in Thailand.  Nice weather and Dad home to play with the boys made for a great re-do!

How time flies!

Nago, 2013
(Isaac 19 months, Owen almost 3.5 years)

The last time I posed with my guys at a cherry blossom festival, we looked like this:

DC, 2011
(27 weeks with Isaac, Owen 17 months)

Nago cherry blossoms

We went with the MCCS tour to Nago's cherry blossom festival yesterday.  The blossoms were only at 10%, making the trip a little disappointing.  Hopefully in a couple weeks the sakura will be in full bloom and maybe the park won't be so crowded then.

Our tatami room

My favorite room in our house is the tatami room.  Tatami are traditional Japanese mats made out of straw and placed on the floor like carpeting.  Although our tatami are faded and well-worn, the room often smells like sweet and clean like grass.

Looking into the tatami room from the living room
(the genkan is the door on the right)

Horigotatsu

Our tatami room has a low table with an area below the floor called a horigotatsu (掘り炬燵).  The space underneath the table is a comfortable place for our legs and has a built in heater.  In the winter, a futon blanket can be placed between the top of the table and the frame.  We don't have central heating (or basically any type of insulating on the house) so we have to use individual heaters.  Makes more sense than trying to heat or cool all three floors like our townhouse in Virginia but can also be a pain to turn on space heaters throughout the house.  Although it doesn't get cold enough in Okinawa, in mainland Japan the table and blanket is a cozy gathering place for the family.

Edit:  Here's a great article about using the kotatsu and winter weather by You, Me, and a Tanuki.

Below table heater

Our kotatsu table is removable (the top and frame are stored in the space below, with extra tatami mats to place over the opening in the floor).  Although we haven't had any friends or family come visit yet, switching the tatami room from a formal dining room to a guest room would be very convenient.

Another nice feature of using tatami, the mats are completely removable.  Not too long ago, a potty training toddler had an accident in the tatami room.  Even after thoroughly drying and cleaning the mats, a faint smell lingered.  So I pulled up the mat and put it out in the sun for the afternoon.  No more pee-pee smell.

Back and front of tatami

Speaking of cleaning, tatami do require some special maintenance   First, make sure you frequently check under any objects for mold.  Here is one example of mold growing under a futon mattress.  When we first moved in, I used the tatami room to store all of our boxes and packing paper.  A few months later I had a nasty surprise waiting for me underneath all those boxes - the dreaded kabi (mildew).  I also take the extra mats out of the closet and make sure they're aired out from time to time.

Tatami cleaner

To clean the mats, I first vaccuum making sure to follow the direction of the straw.  Next I break out the Swiffer and put a special cleaning pad on it.  I found ours at Makeman but I'm sure other stores like Aeon have them too.  So far, I've been able to get up every mess the boys have put down with just a little scrubbing and sunlight (but we're careful not to allow red wine or other stain-makers into the room).

The mats are spendy to replace (I think around $150 to $200 per basic mat (our room has 4 regular sized mats and 4 customs mats, so you do the math)), but I try not to freak out too much about the tatami.  Much like carpeting, the mats need to be replaced from time to time. (And so do the shoji screens, another part of our washitsu, which I'll cover in a future post.)

The tatami room is a special treat while living in Japan.  I know not every family is lucky enough to enjoy such a traditional space and love using ours as much as possible.

Happy New Year!

The Christmas tree!

Behold!

We put the tree up on Black Friday (for my non-American readers, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving when Americans supposedly go apeshit over shopping for Christmas gifts - lining up for sales that start at midnight, pulling guns on people who cut in line, punching grandmothers in the face for the last Wii, whatevers).  Although I miss going out and cutting our own tree down, having it ready to go in a box has it's advantages too.

Note how there isn't decorations on the lower 3 feet of the tree and the topper is askew.  The boys haven't stopped "helping" with the decorations long enough for me to take a picture.  And they knocked the tree completely over today. At least it's plastic, all the ornaments are plastic, and no shoji screens were damaged in the process.

I'll try to get better pics when I finally get around to putting up the removed ornaments (so, maybe Christmas Eve?? Also, NaBloPoMo should really be in a month like April when there ain't jack going on.)

Shaking off the turkey coma

We had a great holiday celebrating with friends!

Last year I made everything by hand, which was very stressful and frustrating (I was able to find a turkey small enough to fit in my tiny oven and our friends brought over a larger bird).  So this year to avoid all the fuss we ordered the small ham package from Tengan Castle.  The ham was good, but the side dishes (yams, stuffing, potatoes, ect) were disappointing.  Very bland.  For Christmas, I'll probably pick up a ham and turkey then make the side dishes and desserts at home.

This year we also had an early dinner at a friend's house and went to a dinner buffet at Camp Foster's Ocean Breeze club.  Although we had to wait about 20 minutes for a table and then stand in a long line for food, we'd definitely go back.  I was surprised how good everything was!  The glazed carrots, herb stuffing and turkey were delicious.

Best of all, I still managed to lose a pound this week (only 7 more until I work off my summer vacation indulgences). Ug.

Beautiful day at the beach

More pictures from our weird but beautiful day at the beach...

The boys playing by a "cave"

Hermit crab tracks

Loving the gorgeous weather!  Although I miss snow and going skiing, getting a tan in November is pretty awesome too.

Celebrating Shichi-go-san

Futenma Shrine

Imagine wanting to put up a Christmas tree and attend a holiday mass but you've never celebrated Christmas before, know basically nothing about Christianity, have a less-than-conversational level of English, and no native friends.  That's basically how I felt about Shichi-san-go (七三五, celebrating when children turn 3, 5 and 7 years old).

So why do it? I've been interested in Japanese language and culture since I was in grade school - the mix of cutting edge technology and ancient traditions is completely fascinating.  Plus, I feel like there isn't as much dressing up and celebrating with boys as there is with girls.  It seems like stores are overflowing with clothes and shoes for girls and the boys section is relegated to a small corner. Generally, girls get to go overboard with prom, sweet 16 parties, and their wedding day while boys are pointed in the direction of the closest tux rental and told to not wear sneakers.  Every year for Birthday Ball I pick out a dress and shoes and hair and makeup and jewelry, and all Chris has to do is get the same hair cut he always gets and dust off his dress blues.  So I try to take every opportunity to dress the boys up or celebrate their special moments, like flying koi for Boy's Day.

To get Owen dressed, I first had to find where to buy a kimono and get all the pieces he'd need (if anyone is curious, this website breaks down all the pieces to a Japanese man's formal attire). Then I needed to watch this video and read two websites (this one in English and this one in Japanese) before I finally got the obi (wide sash) and hakama (pants) tied properly (I think).  (One major thing that was messing me up was not using a himo (a thin sash) to hold the kimono in place before putting the obi on.  I only have my yukata's himo, so I used the white sash from my robe instead of putting the boy in something girly.  But seeing him dressed like a little samurai was definitely worth it!

As I was getting him dressed this morning, I told Owen he was wearing fancy clothes to celebrate that he's a big boy now (Dad fed him lunch and kept him entertained with Sesame Street while I fussed with the kimono).  Maybe when he turns 5 he'll understand more about Japanese culture or at least get excited to dress up.

We decided the best thing to do was get Owen into just his kimono for the car ride.  Then I put on his hakama and haori (jacket) when we arrived at the shrine.  Not sure if that was the most couth thing to do but I didn't see another way of getting him in his car seat without messing up his pants.  (The hakama is almost like a long skirt with very specific pleats and the buckle of his car seat needs to go between his legs.)

Owen being silly in the car

At the Futenma shrine, the blessing ceremony appeared to take place several times during the day.  We arrived around 1pm when one blessing was ending and not too long afterwards another one started.  There was a small room to the left of the shrine where we were told we would need to fill out some sort of form and donate 3000 yen to be allowed into the ceremony.  Chris decided to pass.  Unfortunately for Owen, the packages of chitose ama (longevity candies) were only handed out at the end of the ceremony and he left without his treat.

The rain put a damper on pictures.  I also feel weird taking pictures of other people's kids without asking.  So even though the little girls in kimonos and kanzashi (hair ornaments) were beyond adorable, I didn't want to intrude on another family's moment.  Owen was having trouble walking in his sandals and needed to be carried around.  After a few pictures we decided to take the boys home.

I had fun experiencing another aspect of Japanese culture and Owen has another special memory of growing up in Okinawa ^_^

Getting ready

Well, I'm still trying to get the obi tied properly.  (My toddler is no where near as patient as this kid.)

Pretty sure the previous owner folded the hakama wrong, making the top pleat go in the wrong direction.

Owen refuses to wear his tabi/zori.

Have no idea how I'm going to get a toddler wearing hakama into a 5 point seat belt.*

And I'm not even sure if there's festivities at Futenma tomorrow.

But we'll head down to the shrine in the morning and hope for the best.  If nothing else, I'll play the 馬鹿外人 (stupid foreigner) card and take pictures like a tourist ;)







* Japanese laws do not require any type of child restraints  So I'm sure the Okinawan families just hold their kimono'ed child in their lap or, at best, put them in a regular seat belt.  But #1, that's not legal for us (SOFA status are held to the same car seat requirements as the rest of America) and #2, it's not worth the risk.  I'd rather deal with a wrinkled kimono than Owen getting hurt in an accident.

Dinos!

Watching Dinosaur Train

Owen has entered into the dinosaur stage.  He loves the PBS show Dinosaur Train and constantly begs to watch it.

At first I thought he was just zoning out while watching the tv.  Then one day he surprised me by knowing the name of the Cretaceous Period.  Now he can name about 10 types of dinosaurs and what they eat.  I'm not sure how smart the average 3 year old is, but that certainly impresses me!  I know some adults that don't even know what a herbivore is.

One of the cutest parts of his dino obession: he pronounces brachiosaurus like "broccoli-osaurus".  Cracks me up every time!

Really missing Virginia and the Smithsonian right now.  I wish we could just drive up to DC and show him the real deal at the Natural History Museum.  We've looked at some pictures together but it's just not the same.  

18 month old Owen is not impressed

Already have a new board started on Pinterest for a dino-rific 4th birthday party.

No more years!

We've finally done it!  Isaac is finally weaned!!

I have spent the last four years pregnant and/or breastfeeding - and it feels so good to have my body back!

Well, kinda have my body back.  Still no where near my pre-preg fitness (won't be running a marathon or finishing a triathlon anytime soon).  I still have plenty of "baby weight" (although since Isaac is over 16 months old, I'm pretty sure the time limit on using pregnancy as an excuse has expired and it's just plain old lazy people fat now).  And I'm still trying to get my head out of this funk (not sure what's going on with me, but the last month or so has been especially tough).

But at least I'm no longer a milk machine!

Spooky decorations

As I said last post, we're pinching pennies to help rebuild our savings (although space a helped make the trip home affordable, it still took a good chunk out of bank account).  To help get the house into a festive mood, I made a couple of projects I found around the web.

First up, Martha Stewart's witch's curtain:

Decorations in the living room

I bought a box of black garbage bags then cut them up and stretched them out while watching TV on night.  I had so many from just the one box that we hung the curtains up around our living room.  Fun and totally cheap!

Another garbage bag craft is How About Orange's spider webs.  Although I didn't get around to it this year, definitely something to keep in mind for next Halloween.

We also skipped carving pumpkins this year.   Instead I snagged a couple of plastic jack-o-lanterns at the BX.  The real pumpkins quickly went bad last year, no one can really see our porch, and the boys don't know they're missing out on anything.

I moved an Ikea light from Owen's room into the living room and used some old purple party lights to add the final touches.  And voila!  An entire room decorated for under $20

Spooky!

Halloween happenings

Because I wasn't sure which package was going to arrive in time for Halloween (and the selection at the stores on base was extremely limited), the boys ended up with three costumes.  I made sure the boys got out and had fun in each one.

Costumes round 1

The first set were from Grandma Linda.  She bought the boys Oshkosh overalls this summer.  Owen's overalls matched his hat from Busch Gardens perfectly, so the boys became Thomas and a conductor.  The boys had a great time at Camp Courtney's Spooky Storytime.  They especially loved the craft at the end.

Owen coloring a spider at the base library's Spooky Storytime

Those outfits were in a box I shipped home from Oregon instead of fighting with extra luggage.  I had my mom mail it after we left and I wasn't sure when the costumes were going to arrive in Oki.  So I also ordered...

Costumes round 2

Owen a cheap skeleton costume from Target.  Almost every shipment from Target gets here in two weeks or less and we already had a monster t-shirt and silly pj bottoms for Isaac, so these were my back up outfits.

We took the boys out to Kadena's Fall Fest the Saturday before Halloween.  Sorry to say we didn't have a good time and will definitely skip this event next year.

Trunk-or-Treat at the Fall Fest

But we still had the main event to look forward to: Trick or treating!  Owen understands the tradition now (even if he is too shy to actually say "trick or treat" most of the time).  And I was really excited for my top costume pick:

Although we originally agreed to cut out all unnecessary spending to build our savings back up, when I saw the baby Ewok outfit online I couldn't help myself!  I didn't want to wait until next year because Isaac is that perfect age with his chubby little cheeks and roly-poly tummy that begs to be an Ewok.  I already had a white dress to be Leia (plus some sock buns courtesy of Pinterest).  And Chris said that if we cut his hair at home for a few weeks, we'd save enough to offset the boys costumes.  I worried that the company wouldn't fulfill the order in time for Halloween, but all the costumes arrived with plenty of time to spare and everything fit!

The night of Halloween, we took the boys to McT to Trick-or-treat.  The weather was a little drizzly causing a lot of people to stay home.  Nothing like the crowds last year!  By the end I was carrying Owen's candy, hat, gloves and light saber and Chris was carrying a sleeping Isaac, but we had a lot of fun and I'm glad everything worked out so well.

And that's how we ended up with a triple Halloween treat!  (I just hope the boys don't expect three costumes every year!)